Where's the manager??

from SFZZZ

Like to hike stairs, like to share bathrooms, like to walk, like to park down the street in an open air parking lot, like to be on your own??? This is the place for you. Saw the manager for a total of 10 minutes at check in and in our 2 night stay, we never saw him again. Was told at reservation that we would have a room with a roll away bed, got a blow up mattress on the floor instead. No carpet on the floor, just 2 very high twins and a blow up mattress. Shared bathroom with another room. Hiked 3 floors to room that had a desk and a chair. If one person had the chair, then the other 2 sat on the high twin beds. This room was very bare bones. Other suites looked better. Location was farther than I thought for public transportation. As mentioned the manager was never around to consult about the city. He did however call me on my cell to ask me to make a breakfast time because of the high volume of guests but never addressed the blow up mattress I called him about. Breakfast was okay but 8:00 is a little late to start breakfast and had more than 6 people had shown up for breakfast at 8, we all would have had a wait. For us, the price was good for this time of year but I would opt to stay somewhere else in the future.

In regard to guest bathrooms; half of our guest accommodations feature private bathrooms and half share a bathroom. Each shared bathroom is shared by no more than two guest rooms and is located right next to the guest rooms. A decision was made not to build extra bathrooms so that the original historical structural remained preserved.

In regard to guest parking; again, La Reserve is located in center city Philadelphia. As such, parking in the city is always a difficult issue. We have an arrangement with an attended parking lot one block away from our house and offer a 25% discount for daily parking. Most guests find our parking arrangement very affordable and convenient.

In regard to walking in the city; La Reserve's location is considered by many to be one of our best features. We are within walking distance to most center city attractions, restaurants and stores. However, we are located in a city and we can't be five minutes away from everything. The longest walk to any major attraction area is twenty minutes. In addition, we are surrounded by many, many public transportation options including taxi cabs right to our front door.

In regard to management availability; I make every effort to be available as often as possible for my guest. I live on site and I provide my guests with business cards so that they can reach me if needed. I also have a knowledgeable staff that can answer questions and offer assistance in my absense. However, it is not possible for me to be immediately available (in person) at all times and there are times when I have to be out of the house on business as well as for personal reasons. And there is a great deal of time when I am on site and available, but my guests are out of the house enjoying the city during the day or in the evenings.

In regard to extra beds; as a courtesy, we offer our guests the option of setting up extra beds in rooms to accommodate family and children and to save them money. We have limited storage capability and, as such, we do not have room for rollaway beds and have never offered such to any guest. We use beds that that are very compact when not in use for optimal storage. Previously, we were using inflatable beds that sat on the floor for children. In response to guest feedback, we have since upgraded to high-end inflatable beds that sit on their own support legs up off the floor. When inflated, these beds look like regular normal beds and according to our guests, are very comfortable for sleeping. We can offer three different sizes as well. However, it should be noted that we prefer not to add extra beds to rooms for additional occupants beyond what the room was meant to accommodate. We only offer this as a courtesy to help guests save money when traveling with families.

In regard to our guest room accommodations; all rooms have carpeting ranging from wall-to-wall to large oriental area rugs. Our room decors range from luxurious french designer to very simple historical Colonial style. This is reflected in our pricing. La Reserve has been undergoing a renovation for the last 12 months. And our interior decorator intentionally designed a room with a "sparse" decor and furnishings to capture the simple, old Colonial style of the eighteenth century. Also, we do provide photos of all of our rooms on our web site and in our brochures so that the style and decor of our rooms are not a surprise to any of our guests and so guests can select room styles of their choice.

According to our reviews, La Reserve is one of the highest rated B&B's in Philadelphia. Many of our guests tell us that they very much loved and enjoyed their stay with us and will come back again. Most of our guests are satisfied with the experience we provided. For the few guests that have not been satisfied, we do listen to their feedback carefully so that we can continuously improve as much as we can. We very much enjoy and take pleasure in satisfying our guests. That's why we're here.

Beautiful Room, Great Location, Disappointing Breakfast

from anonymous

We stayed the weekend at La Reserve for our two year anniversary. The location was wonderful...in a beautiful, safe area of the city. Paul, the manager, was very helpful and responded quickly to our requests. We stayed in the Hunt Suite, which was even more beautiful than the website picture portrays it. Our bathroom was nothing special. Our only complaint was the breakfast, and we are not picky eaters. We both had the waffles and pancakes, and they were unbelievably bland. In fact, I barely finished the meal both mornings because I was so displeased.

We ate at La Baia which was recommended by Paul. It's a quaint and delightfully casual BYOB Italian restaurant. The food was absolutely delicious. However, it was incredibly hot (no central AC), which forced us to eat quickly.

We enjoyed lounging and having drinks at Le Jardin, which is only a few blocks away.

Note - The sign for La Reserve is barely visible from the street. It's very easy to pass.

A clean & classy B/B with very friendly staff

from anonymous

The price was reasonable, room was clean, breakfast was hot and fresh, staff were courteous and helpful, parking was inexpensive and convenient--in short, our 5-night experience at La Reserve was very pleasant.

The vintage and spacious townhome-turned-B/B, located in a quiet but safe neighborhood, was photogencially and thoughtfully decorated in every corner. Although we had to share the clean bathroom with the floor (average 2 rooms per floor) and the door of the room cannot be locked from outside (there's a latch inside and a vault in the office is available to store guests' valuables), we love this place and the friendly staff (Paul the manager, Linda and Millie the chefs and housekeepers) so much that we'll definitely book it again next time we visit Philly. BTW, it's closer to UPenn than most other hotels in town.

My Home Away From Home

from anonymous

I was looking for a charming, inexpensive place to stay, less than a five minute walk to Rittenhouse Square, with a decent breakfast and a good piano... sounds like a tall order doesn't it? La Reserve fulfilled those expectations and more.

It snowed 8 to 12 inches the cozy weekend we stayed at the beautiful La Reserve. We stayed in the Sunshine Room which had many windows looking out onto the street. The staff made sure we our room was warm enough. Because of the weather, we stayed inside for most of the weekend. There was a plethora of current magazines and good books for all interests throughout the house. The house was equiped with wireless high speed internet so we could stay connected. There was also a TV with a VCR and DVD player in the comfortable den, for guests whose rooms did not have one. Breakfast was nicely presented. There was no menu; the cook took requests. There was light breakfast food available all day: oatmeal, cereal, hot chocolate, tea, etc. The best part about our stay was Paul and his staff. They always seemed to know when I needed something, when I wanted them to go away, or when I just wanted to chat.

Loved La Reserve

from anonymous

Stayed at La Reserve over the Valentine's Day weekend. The staff at La Reserve (Paul, Linda, and Millie), made us feel right at home and really made the difference. They prepared delicious home-cooked breakfasts and were very helpful and accomodating. We chose the Hunt Room, which was completely decorated in red. It was beautiful and created a very romantic milieu. The rooms were clean and well stocked. The lobby was nice and the self-park option was very economical. The free wireless internet was a nicety. It is also in close proximity to some great [and romantic] restaurants. It's not far from Philadelphia downtown, but just far enough to get away from the hustle. La Reserve is a very traditional B&B (be aware that the doors do not have locks on them) ... but in most ways, a nice departure from a hotel. The winter pricing makes it a hard bargain to beat. I will definitely look forward to staying at La Reserve again!

Took the Risk

from anonymous

I took the risk of staying at La Reserve on December 11th 2004. I had already booked my room when I ran across this site and saw some foul words about the place but the price was right so I took the gamble. It's my guess that the staff has changed in the past 6 months because the house was sparkling. I stayed in the "Paprika" room and wow what beautiful furnishings and decoration. I was impressed at the almost white coat service and when I simply asked where a drug store might be, a young man appeared from nowhere and was giving me a map, I still swear he was hiding somewhere. I had an overall great time and will be returning again in the spring for my next conference.

New management excellent!

from Billy2005

We just spent the best weekend of our life with them at La Reserve. The four kind folks there made banana pancakes, waffles, eggs and pastries each day. It was like a smorgasbord and my wife and I were stuffed.

One item is the way they recently redecorated the whole house. They had to have spent over 50 thousand. The other item we noticed was the friendly and professional service by the new management company. I don't mind telling folks that we have been coming here for six years and things have drastically been upgraded through the roof.

The team running the place helped us get reservations, they instituted excellent massage and salons with a spa with the Pierre and Carlo at the Borgata Casino - quite famous people to be working with. We had a great time. Thank you trip advisor!

Billy

The place was great.

from anonymous

Are people reviewing the same La Reserve I am? I was in town the weekend of Dec. 4th for the Army/Navy football game. The room I had was clean and comfortable. The management staff went out of their way to help. Breakfast was fantastic (they even had food for my fiancee's special diet). They suggested a lovely restaurant for dinner on saturday night and made reservations for us. Even though Navy won the game, I still had a great stay in Philadelphia.

Style over substance

from anonymous

A boutique hotel in a grand colonial house. Antique furniture abounds and there is an initial impression of unrefined elegance.

However, there was literally NO guest services, no telephone, no TV (this I didn't mind), no tea/coffee facilities, no secure deposit and most amazingly no locks on the guest room doors. A couple who were staying there at the same time as me actually had someone stumble into their room in the middle of the night. The bathroom felt used. In my room you could remove a build up of grime from the shower wall with the back of your fingernail.

In my experience the management was appalling. Asking any type of local knowledge question was greeted with "you should be able to find something on the square". They wouldn't even call a taxi. Worst of all, they made an error in the length of my stay (which was not verified on arrival) which meant that I returned at night to find the entire contents of my room packed into plastic bags and left insecurely in the lobby.

The mangement insist on charging in full in advance. I did persist with it for 2 nights thinking that it might just be a 'quirky' hotel - I consider myself to be a fairly reasonable guest. I can honestly say that this has been the worst hotel I have ever stayed in.

We have also completed extensive renovations that have enhanced the comfort of the house while preserving its historic, old-world style and charm of the 1850's.

Our ongoing goal is to make La Reserve one of the finest B&B's in Philadelphia. Moreover, our efforts are paying off; as we are now one of top-rated B&B's in Philadelphia according to the reviews of our valued guests.

We are continually striving to make negative reviews a "thing of the past" and to provide our guests with only the most enjoyable experiences and memories to write about.

Small, snooty, and overpriced

from anonymous

Why did I feel like I was intruding on the staff when I checked in? Was it because they didn't want to be bothered by customers. I don't know but I do know I won't stay here again. Way overpriced for the small room with attitude from the snooty staff.

... of new exhibits and it's being refurbished.. When they found out I was from Scotland and only in town for a day, they gave me a quick tour and introduced me to the resident artist, a Ric*********** who gave me a personal tour.....obviously they were still getting ready, but what a lovely thing to do.. Faith in mankind restored..... Turns out the resident artiste was a descendant of a black man from the West Indies (hence ...

A society, most of whose members spend a great part of their time, not on the spot, not here and now and in their calculable future, but somewhere else, in the irrelevant other worlds of sport and soap opera, of mythology and metaphysical fantasy, will find it hard to resist the encroachments of those who would manipulate and control it. - Aldous Huxley ...

... festival. Joe, Kristen and I head out early before Joy joins us later, also meeting up with Tim and Jason. If you’re ever in the PA area you should check out Jason’s website http://thetowndish.com … He also had this killer photo booth at the restaurant festival, and this is one of my favourite photos from the trip!